France Shows New Signs of Recession

Economic woes far from finished

French business activity shrank in January at the fastest pace since the trough of the global financial crisis, a survey showed on Thursday, in a new sign the euro zone's second-biggest economy may be in recession.

Data compiler Markit said its preliminary composite purchasing managers' index (PMI), covering activity in the services and manufacturing sectors combined, came out at 42.7 for the month, slumping from 44.6 in December.

The drop brought the index to the lowest level since March 2009 and took it further below the 50-point line that separates growth in private sector activity from contraction.